Model Rule 7.2: Communications Concerning a Lawyer's Services: Specific Rules

When it applies

This comes up whenever a lawyer runs ads, pays for a website/directory listing, joins a lawyer referral service, or sets up reciprocal referral arrangements with other professionals. On the MPRE, it's tested through fact patterns involving payment for referrals, "runners," or missing/mislabeled contact information in ads.

What the rule requires

• Lawyers may advertise through written, recorded, or electronic communication, including public media, subject to the truthfulness standard of Rule 7.1.
• A lawyer generally may not give anything of value to a person for recommending the lawyer's services (the anti-referral-fee rule).
• A lawyer may pay the reasonable costs of advertisements or communications permitted by this rule.
• A lawyer may pay usual charges of a legal service plan or a not-for-profit or qualified lawyer referral service.
• A lawyer may enter reciprocal referral agreements with another lawyer or nonlawyer professional, as long as the agreement is not exclusive and the client is informed of the existence and nature of the arrangement.
• Any communication made under this rule must include the name and contact information (such as office address, phone, email, or website) of at least one lawyer or firm responsible for its content.
• A lawyer may not state or imply certification as a specialist in a particular field unless the lawyer has been certified by an organization approved by an appropriate authority or accredited by the ABA, and the certifying organization is clearly identified in the communication.

Exceptions

• Reasonable advertising cost payments are allowed even though they technically involve giving value tied to generating business.
• Usual charges of a qualified lawyer referral service or legal service plan are permitted even though the service is compensated per referral.
• Non-exclusive reciprocal referral agreements with lawyers or nonlawyers are allowed if the client is told about the arrangement.
• A lawyer may purchase a law practice under the conditions set out in Rule 1.17 without violating the anti-referral-payment rule.
• A lawyer may give nominal gifts as an expression of appreciation for a recommendation, as long as the gift is neither intended nor reasonably expected to be compensation for the recommendation.

How the MPRE tests Model Rule 7.2

• Students forget that 7.2 is about *how* lawyers pay for/structure advertising and referrals, while 7.1's truthfulness standard governs the *content*—MPRE questions often blend the two.
• Test-takers assume all referral fees are banned outright, missing the carve-outs for reasonable ad costs, qualified referral services, and reciprocal agreements.
• Questions may hide an illegal 'runner' or 'capper' payment (paying a nonlawyer a fee per client sent) as a subtle ad expense to see if students spot the prohibited referral payment.
• Students overlook the requirement that ads include a responsible lawyer's name and contact information, missing violations based on omitted disclosure rather than false content.